Gordius, known in the non-crosswording world as David Moseley, has been setting for the Guardian since 1967, "more as an amusing hobby than as a career". He's featured at this blog many times, with slyly witty clues such as "The outcome of intimacy may be more by accident" for EMBRYO, and "One person that's glad with decrepitude?" for OLD-AGE PENSIONER.

Earlier this year, Simon Hoggart remarked of one of Gordius's clues that "things couldn't be looking much worse" for Ed Miliband, and the setter certainly has a natty line in cheeky references to the political class. Witness Michael Gove's cameo in a delightful clue for GOVERNMENTAL, "Minister the senior service finds dotty, as is the coalition" and Margaret THATCHER's son in "Mark, a man of straw".

A recent favourite of mine was "Are their ratings never very good?" for STANDARD AND POOR, and a pair of clues alluding to the scandal which led to the resignation of defence secretary Liam Fox.

Finally, on the subject of foxes, Gordius foxed many solvers with the clue "It's about a pound in English money (5,2,7)", even though the answer was probably about their person.

Where do you create your puzzles?

It's an ongoing process: sitting around indoors, walking outside, with or without the dog, trying to find one or two interesting clues, and then putting it all together at the computer desk.

When did you get the crossword bug?

At Christmas 1966, the Guardian, possibly for the only time in its history, had a crossword-setting competition. For fun, in the few days following, I thought I would have a go. To my surprise, my entry was thought to be the best, and I got a prize of six guineas - quite a good sum in those days - and an invitation to send in more puzzles.

What have you done for a living besides writing crosswords?

I am a priest (C of E), though retired since 1995. I was ordained in Manchester cathedral in 1956, as assistant curate at Farnworth and Kearsley, and then worked in Trinidad, Bristol and East Devon.

Why do you think the clergy is well represented in the crossword world?

It makes an excellent contrast to our work. Problems that are fun as distinct from those that are tragic, because lives and misery are not at stake; a pastime that harms nobody, is not destructively competitive, but allows satire where satire is the only available response to the world's folly...

Is a propensity to play games with words ever a nuisance to yourself or others?

It's more relaxed: 50 years ago the serious papers were reluctant to allow slang; contemporary comments were rare if not unknown and some clues were cryptic only in the sense of being reliant on classical quotations probably known only to public-school alumni.

What's the future for cryptic crosswords?

I'll know that when I give them up altogether!

Long may you run, Gordius, and many thanks for taking part. The answers to the clues above are VIRGIN TRAINS and EXETER BYPASS.